Doc Holliday: The Gambler, Gunslinger, and Tuberculosis-Stricken Dentist of the Old West

Doc Holliday was a complex and fascinating figure of the American Old West. Born John Henry Holliday in 1851, he was a dentist by trade, but also a skilled gambler, gunslinger, and consummate poker player.

Diagnosed with tuberculosis as a young man, Holliday headed west in search of a drier climate to ease his symptoms. He settled in Dodge City, Kansas, where he quickly earned a reputation as a deadly marksman and volatile personality. Holliday’s friendship with the legendary Wyatt Earp led him to participate in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Holliday was also known for his cultured manners, keen intellect, and dry sense of humor. He counted among his friends famous Western icons like Bat Masterson and Luke Short. Holliday’s life was tragically cut short by his tuberculosis at the age of 36, but his legend as one of the most notorious and complex characters of the Old West lives on.